Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1419056
A C R U C I A L P I E C E of the community schools model (and one of the most difficult) is shared leadership. School leadership teams include educators, students, parents and community members. These teams share the responsibility of school operations with the principal, and they ensure the school is serv- ing the needs of the school community. "Shared leadership is a difficult thing because people traditionally in power have to give some of that up," says Leslie Hu, community school coordinator and secre- tary of United Educators of San Francisco. "When you center schools around student and community voices, it makes it hard for a traditional approach." As one of the major pillars of community schools, inclusive leadership is a com- mitment to the school community that students, families and educators will be part of the decision-making, implemen- tation and accountability process. This ensures that solutions are built with shared interest and responsibility. " That 's really a game changer for our roles as educators," says Kyle Weinberg, vice president of San Diego Education Association. "Governance of schools is not set up to be equitable. If you're intentional about investing in collaborative leadership, it will pay dividends." For community school coordinator and United Teachers Los Angeles member Nicole Douglass, it's just not possible to accomplish the goals of supporting students and uplifting communities without sharing goals, responsi- bilities and leadership. "If this is a community school, there is no one leader," she says. "Shared leader- ship is everything." A true test of family partnership at com- munity schools, Hu says, is who the school considers to be experts on students and their needs. "Do you think of the parents as experts, or do you center yourself as the expert? That's a significant shift," she says. "If we believe young people are the experts on their own lives, that families are experts on their own children, schools will look totally different." United Educators of San Francisco is holding webinars to educate members about community schools and organize for funding. Shared Leadership: Key to Success 24 cta.org "We view it as an opportunity to empower all the stakeholders in our school communities. What's transformative about community schools is the empowerment." —Kyle Weinberg, San Diego Education Association Feature